Tag Archive | book review

Ten Dates by Rachel Dove

Mar19

Still Me

Ten Dates by Rachel Dove is the most beautiful contemporary novel that warmed my heart and soul.

The story is told in the third person from two alternating points of view. The reader becomes well acquainted with the two lead characters. Both of which are easy to empathise with.

Love completely radiates from the pages – a mind recovering from a coma has forgotten much, but a heart still recognizes feelings of love. This is a love to last a lifetime. This is a love so huge, it fears hurting another. This is a love that denies self and always puts another first. This is a beautiful love.

Rachel Dove has written a novel that assaults your emotions. The raw emotion of love is palpable. The reader wafts alongside the characters as we long to know – what will happen at the end of ten dates?

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The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo

Mar16

Powerful

The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo is a powerful children’s novel. It is perfect for ages ten years and over.

This is a tale simply but powerfully told. It introduces the reader to the power of music, memories and the holocaust. It is written in such a way as to inform but not to scare children into having nightmares.

Music transports us through time and space. We hear a piece of music and are immediately back somewhere in time. When that place is a concentration camp, we know why certain music is avoided as it causes great pain.

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Ellie-May And Her Toy Dragon, Ben by Genna Rowbotham

Mar15

Very Charming

Ellie-May And Her Toy Dragon, Ben by Genna Rowbotham is a very charming book for the under fives.

The story is written in rhyme with verses four lines long. There is a bouncy rhythm enabling children to join in once they have heard the tale a few times. They can anticipate the action.

All the book is beautifully illustrated. The drawings are simple but effective. Each page is packed full of detail, enabling you to talk it through with your children.

 The dragon has a friendly face that will appeal to young children.

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Sons Of Thunder by Stephen Grow

Mar14

Hilarious

Sons Of Thunder by Stephen Grow is the most marvellous book of cartoons with a Christian theme… and with the added bonus of a wise cat (said the crazy cat lady!)

The cat adds some droll comments which add to the humor of the cartoons. Having lived with cats all my life, I can actually believe that is just what a cat would say!

I found the cartoons absolutely hilarious. The Christian themes may require a prior knowledge of the Bible for some cartoons but not necessarily. (I cannot be sure on this because I have grown up in church so it is all familiar to me). Most of the cartoons would be accessible to a wider audience though.

In England, we had a cartoon character called Andy Capp who appeared in a newspaper –the Sons Of Thunder reminds me of him with their droll sense of humor as they deliver the punch lines with straight faces.

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